A slightly altered version of Splurge made a few appearances on Sesame Street during the first season, including episode 0015. This version is distinct from the full body form in that Splurge's mouth doesn't move, and he has large eyelashes, rather than a unibrow.

Splurge's personality underwent a change for the book series; the back cover of the first book describes him this way: "Splurge is like a big, big baby. He's scared of mostly everything, except butterflies." Splurge carries around a "cuddle" wherever he goes; the cuddle is a rock, and he has a wooden box full of spare cuddles.

Splurge starred in his own Scary Scary Monsters book in 1999. In New Friend, Blue Friend, Splurge finds a furry blue bedroom slipper, which falls over the waterfall from Somewhere Else (the monsters' name for our world). Splurge names the slipper Floofy and makes it his new cuddle friend.